Story Glue

My reading time is limited these days. Like, really, really limited. I’m not sure what it is– but it might possibly have something to do with homeschooling a kindergartener and a third grader while chasing a super active toddler around . . . not to mention feeding said children and (sort of) stopping our house from a headlong slide into full-scale disaster zone . . . and oh yes, there’s also that whole writing thing that I do as our family’s main breadwinner. So yeah. As much as I love diving head first into a good story and not emerging for hours, at the moment my reading sessions are more like dipping a toe into the waters: if I manage 20 minutes before falling into bed at night, I’m doing awesome.

Now, I don’t mean any of this to sound like a complaint, far from it. It’s just the reality of the season of life that I’m in, and I honestly LOVE this season. I wouldn’t wish one single second of it to fly along faster than it already does. (Well, okay, possibly the house-disaster management. I could hit fast-forward on that one and not really mind.) I do miss reading more– but I’ve also noticed an unexpected benefit to limited reading time: in order to hold my attention over many many many many fragmented mini-sessions, a book has to REALLY grab me. The more times I have to put a book down, the harder it is for me to remember why I picked it up in the first place. Which has led me to contemplate what exactly makes up what I’d call “story glue”– those elusive qualities that catch hold of a readers’ attention and refuse to let her put the book away unfinished.

It’s obviously been hugely helpful to my own writing, too. Don’t we all want to figure out how to write a story that readers just can’t put down? At any rate, here are a few examples of story glue that I’ve found are particularly ‘sticky’ in terms of my own reading habits:

Story Questions: Raising questions in the readers’ minds that don’t get immediately answered. For me, this is a huge component of story glue. Hint at some sort of mystery in the first few pages of a book– doesn’t even have to be mystery, strictly speaking, just something that makes me curious– and I’m much more likely to stay with the story. I just picked up and read the first few pages of 44 Scotland Street, by Alexander McCall Smith. The first chapter opens with a young woman named Pat walking up the steps of a house (44 Scotland Street, in fact), looking to apply to share an apartment. Not exactly save-the-world stakes– not even in context of the young woman’s life. Pat isn’t desperate to live at this particular address. She comes from a comfortable family background, she’s not broke or homeless or fleeing from an unnamed enemy. Okay, so far this isn’t sounding like much of a ‘hook’ in terms of an opening. But as part of the interview that takes place when Pat goes to check out the flat, she mentions that she’s on her “second gap year”. (Here’s a quick run-down on a gap year if you haven’t heard the term; it’s more a British term than an American one.) The young man interviewing her reacts with amused disbelief. “Second gap year?” Yes, she says, the first one was a disaster, so I started again. But she refuses to give any more of an explanation than that– and bam! immediate story questions are raised in the reader’s mind. What happened during the disastrous first gap year? What is she hoping for by starting again? I don’t know (literally don’t know; I haven’t yet managed to claw out any more reading time to keep going with the story) but I’m curious. I want to keep reading to find out.

Empathy: In order for me to get hooked on a story, I personally need to feel an immediate sense of empathy for the character(s) I’m reading about. That’s not to say that they have to be perfect, far from it. No one wants to read about a flawless paragon of virtue. But give me a reason to like them. This has famously been called Save the Cat– and for me it holds equally true in books as it does in movies. You can show your main character behaving in a sympathetic manner (ie, saving a cat, or in other words showing sympathy and/or compassion for others). Or you can evoke the reader’s sympathy by showing a likable main character whose situation is bad enough to make us pity them. Which also ties into the next brand of story glue:

Show the Need for Change: We read books (or at least I do) because I want to be taken step by step on a journey with the characters. I want to watch them be challenged, watch them grow and change through whatever the author throws at them in the way of plot. A huge hook for me in the beginning of a book is for me to see how badly the main character needs a change.

Take my above example of 44 Scotland Street. As I mentioned, Pat isn’t in particularly dire straits. But we can tell right away that she’s hugging some inner, unnamed pain. We can tell that she’s looking for something, that she doesn’t just want a new place to live, she wants a deeper change in her life. Whether your character is stuck in a soul-crushing dead-end job or a bad relationship– or whether a character is actually his or her own worst enemy– show that they absolutely cannot stay where they are on the book’s opening page. Then I’m hooked– turning the pages, wanting to see how exactly the much-needed change comes about.

What about you? What story components make you unable to put a book down? Have you tried working those components into your own writing?

Anna Elliott is an author of historical fiction and fantasy. Her first series, the Twilight of Avalon trilogy, is a retelling of the Trystan and Isolde legend. She wrote her second series, the Pride and Prejudice Chronicles, chiefly to satisfy her own curiosity about what might have happened to Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, and all the other wonderful cast of characters after the official end of Jane Austen's classic work. She enjoys stories about strong women, and loves exploring the multitude of ways women can find their unique strengths. Anna lives in the Washington DC area with her husband and three children.

Comments

Wonderful post, Anna, and kudos to loving the season of life you’re in. I’m in the same season (one pre-schooler but with some Asperger traits like a vampiric sleep pattern) and I can’t wait till it’s over. There. I said it.

As for the story hooks early on in a book, I do like story questions, but I tend to get aggravated when they take too long to be answered. Especially when the opportunity is right there, but the author chooses to prolong answering them just to keep the reader curious.

What I tried in my own book (my first) is to pose the question of why my heroine is so self-conscious of her appearance before a job interview (first few pages of first chapter) only to answer this question during the interview.

Empathy, definitely. Another component is a good sense of place and time and a strong PoV character’s voice. Unique analogies or humor (depending on the genre) are also a winner.

Now you’ve made me think about a blog post on what are the components that will make a reader dislike a book (even drop it) in the first chapter. Oh boy, a long list of those! :)

Hi Maria! Oooh, that’s tough. My three do at least sleep at night. I totally agree about story questions that don’t get answered for TOO long. That makes me want to just skip and skim and flip pages to FIND OUT THE ANSWER ALREADY. Tricky balance. Sounds like you handled it well in your first novel! And yes, great idea for a blog post.

Great post. Yes, this season of your life is hard but will be gone before you know it. I’ve read “Save the Cat” and never realized that the title was referring to creating character sympathy immediately. Thanks!

It flies by so fast! I still think of my son as our ‘new baby’ but he’ll be two in just a few months time. How does it happen?! I really liked Save the Cat quite a bit– some great insights on compelling storytelling.

Homeschooling was fun – and very tough with my low energy, but the kids turned out quite satisfactorily. It was a fascinating time of life.

Mine is fortunately behind me – I don’t write well on little sleep. Sleep first – the writing will be there (and the reading) when you get back to it.

When I write, the template I use for each scene (not a formula, just a list of things to consider, some of them from Donald Maass’ The Fire in Fiction) ALSO includes two short lists: new questions asked this scene, and questions answered this scene.

I find it keeps me thinking that each scene has to have a bit of payoff – and then a new set of intriguing things for the reader to think about. Otherwise, as you say, one can just skip to the end (or quit entirely). The rewards for reading have to keep coming, or it is work for the reader, not pleasure.

Just keeping the ideas in mind helps.

If I can keep a reader with little time reading, I should also be able to keep readers with fewer constraints interested.

It’s part of the job – assuming that readers have, for very good reasons of their own, short attention spans.

I didn’t realize you’d been a homeschooler, Alicia! Nice to hear that your kids turned out well. :-) I totally agree, that’s a terrific overall template to follow. And yes, it’s so helpful to imagine your reader as having a million other things pulling for their attention– as really we all do, whether we have little kids or not.

First, I want to take my hat off to all you moms. Raising kids is such an all-consuming thing. The fact that you do it AND manage to work is astonishing to me! So, Bravo. And thank you, Anna, for your ‘glue’ examples this morning. Empathy for character jumped out at me today, probably because I’m reading a much-hailed novel in which the main character is leaving me cold. (“Which novel is it?” they wonder. I’ll answer that later…) I honestly don’t care what happens to him. Story questions have been raised, but this lack of empathy trumps my need to know.

Aw, thanks– truly it’s a labor of love. Not unlike writing books. :-) I think empathy can be a tricky one because it’s such a personal thing. A main character who appeals to one reader may well leave another cold, as you’re observing.

Wow, you have THREE jobs! Sending you lots of energy for this time in your life. It does fly. Mine are teenagers now and need me in a completely different way, though they’d scoff at me if I pointed it out. Hehe.

Great post on story glue and the example you cite is perfect. It seems that most stories have that built-in mystery, whether it is a psychological one or more overt, whodunit. I always ask myself why I want to write a particular story and the writing itself is driven by why, why, why? I write to understand the world around me. We do have the best job, no?

I don’t know– the age of teenager-dom sounds much more exhausting to me than elementary age, so I’ll send some energy your way, too. :-) I love what you say about writing to understand the world around us. And yes, definitely absolutely the best job in the world!

I was a homeschooled student and still am as a high school sophomore. First, let me tell you: it gets better! By middle school we’re pretty much teaching ourselves and you can find time to do whatever you need to do, writing and cleaning and even reading. Wait for that. And second, I want to thank you for taking so much time out of what you love–writing–to homeschool your children because there really is nothing better you could do for them than to ensure a love of learning. I promise it will last them for the rest of their lives. Even though it’s hard with the young ones and even though it’s hard with wacky state regulations, you’ll never ever regret it. Keep doing what you’re doing–you sound like an amazing mom!
Third, thanks so so much for this post. I love the concept of ‘story glue’ and this was such a perfect gem to find in my inbox this morning. Have a happy Thursday and I’m off to scour the archive of your posts!

Anastasia, thank you SO much for commenting with this! Truly, you’ve just made my day. I talk to other homeschool moms often, but it’s much rarer that I get to hear from the perspective of a homeschool student, so THANK YOU. I absolutely love homeschooling and don’t have a single doubt that it’s right for our family for all the reasons that you say– but yes, lots of hard work, so it’s wonderful to hear that encouragement from you. Best of luck to you in your writing and I hope when my girls are your age they’re able to leave similar comments to yours on some other homeschooling mother’s blog. :-)

I love your post and know exactly how you feel about reading time. I commute to another town where I teach full-time, work part-time at a fitness facility on weekends, am a Cub Scout den leader, and have 3 extremely active children (two in high school and one in middle school). Late in the evening is when I try to write, and then read a bit if I’m not too exhausted.

I, too, like the story glue, the mystery that keeps me coming back to the book instead of sliding it under the bed and forgetting about it. I actually enjoy waiting until the end of a book to learn the secret. However, I only enjoy this if I’m receiving clues throughout the novel, and if the secret is worthy of the wait.

My first novel is filled with clues that lead to a huge revelation in the last quarter of the book. A couple of questions I raise aren’t answered until the second book in the series. I wrote my books the way I like to read them, hoping they’ll keep the attention of my readers.

Best of luck with the homeschooling! Being a teacher and a mother is demanding and rewarding. You’ve got this!

Oh my goodness, you’ve got a lot on your plate! And you still manage to write– that’s an inspiration to us all. I think you’re absolutely on the right track with your story, writing the kind of book you yourself would like to read.

Excellent points here, Anna, especially the journey, as you say. Story glue for me (as a reader) is like tasting food. I want the flavors of delicious prose and inviting images on my plate. Who am I spending my time with, and, where are these people in this world are my personal questions when I open a book. I’m less concerned with “story” question and can wait for that to happen–if as you say, the curious component is present. As a writer, I hear all the time to establish “the hook” immediately. Sounds so crass and too much like advertising savvy than novel writing. I’d rather be seduced into a story than hooked like a fish.

I wish the writers who submit chapters to my Flogging the Quill blog were better versed in these three points. My first and most important criteria in a critique is, guess what, is whether a story question is raised, a strong one. Second, like Donald Maass’s point, does the narrative engage the reader with the character? My crits are just for the first page, and I think it takes a little longer than that to get to your third point, but it, too, is a form of story question–or maybe a “character question?”–that a reader needs answered. Glue, indeed! Stories need to be sticky to hold onto a reader’s mind. Thanks.

Thanks Anna. I am editing a novel (it’s become a project for Sisyphus) with the first chapter introducing a smart-alecky, self-absorbed first-person narrator who may be off-putting. Finally have made it clear what’s at stake for him there (though that changes), but I fear his flippant tone might deter readers. I’m hoping the indicators that his persona is somewhat of a facade aren’t too subtle.

Anyway, thanks for making me think gluey things. And may you find a nice map to navigate those disaster zones.

I think smart-alecky, self-absorbed first-person narrators can work great, just as you say make sure that you give him some redeeming quality and/or let the reader know that the flippancy is just a defense mechanism. Subtle is okay, I think. Readers are smart. :-)
And thank you. My husband has (only part jokingly) suggested just taking a leaf-blower through the house to blow out the layer of random child-related detritus on the floor. :-)

This post is hitting me in the midst of my own frustrations. I’m also finding it hard to settle in for long periods with a book. I’ve never had this problem. For me it has nothing to do with little ones underfoot. I did a lot of traveling over the past few months and ever since I returned home I’ve had a terrible time settling down to read.

I thought perhaps the worlds on the page simply lacked the power of the new Real worlds I experienced over the summer. So I’ve wrestled with several books since my homecoming. My son said once I pick up the “right” book my ability to concentrate will return. And sure enough he was right.

I selected OLD SCHOOL by Tobias Wolff and he had me with the first sentence. So the Voice of the Narrator is at the top of my list for elements that hook me. When this works, the energy of the words resonate in my body, not because they feel like mine, but because I wish they were mine. That connection creates the Empathy you spoke of. For me they go hand in hand. Empathy for me doesn’t have to do with “acts” done by the character or events that happened to them. It’s all about how well the character is reaching me through their POV.

I also agree with you on being able to see that the character realizes a change in their life is necessary. They don’t need to know how to change. They don’t even need to know where they want to end up. But they need to recognize that they’re current state of existence isn’t working.

Yeppir, Anna, you really highlighted the elements that hook. Thanks for the reminders.

Jocasa, you raise some great points here about the reader/book relationship and how it truly does depend on where we are in our lives out here in the ‘real world’. Applying those story-glue elements to our own books is ALWAYS the hardest part, whether you’re writing your first book or your 10th. Just keep reading and paying attention, IMO– I’ve found that listening to my own response as a reader is the best way to learn to write.

Loved your post! I am also a homeschool mom, and it does get better. I have given myself permission this year to write for an hour or two a couple days a week before we start school…this makes me a happier mommy and teacher! It also gets easier when they can read and follow the directions without too much hands on from me. My older two are now high school age and can babysit a few hours a week so I can get away somewhere quiet to write. The years go faster than you think, too!

And your perspective of story glue is a great visual to ‘stick’ to story engagement for our readers. Thanks for squeezing in this post for us!

Hi Michele! So nice of you to comment! I can totally see it already getting easier with my third grader — she’s able to work independently on her assignments for a majority of the time. My kindergartener needs me to sit with her for most of the time (though works independently on a few things) but that’s okay, I really love teaching the kindergarten age, it’s so precious and as you say it truly does go by so fast. Lucky for me I have her little brother coming along as a kindergartener in a few years. :-)

Thanks, Anna–you have zeroed in on very necessary story elements. Empathy for a character or characters is on the top of my list. And while involved in the lives of these fictional people, you sometimes find your feelings toward them changing. That’s life, that good writing. Great post.

How strange that your example of a book that raised great story questions for you early on that kept you hooked is the only book over the past decade I have started, kept trying to care about, and then put down, never to be finished! I didn’t feel like there was anything in those early chapters to hold onto and I was disappointed because it was the first (and thus far only) book by that author I’ve tried, and so many people love his books. Everything about it felt flat to me. I guess that just goes to show that what works for one reader may not work for another.

Erin, that’s hilarious. It’s really true that what works for one reader may leave another totally cold. But I’ve also read a lot of Alexander McCall Smith’s other books and loved them, so I think that may make me a little more inclined to stick with one that admittedly doesn’t have an especially flash-bang kind of opening.

If the book gets my attention in the first few paragraphs, I’ll continue reading. The beginning doesn’t have to have an explosive start, just a good one–something attention grabbing. I like good characters with a believable struggle, good pacing, and a happy ending. One book I tried to read had a good story, but every single character name was a weird conglomeration of consonants. I read 2 pages and quit. It wasn’t worth the trouble to get to know Glzblnartx or Glrtmlejtx.
Twice I’ve read one book in a series only to get to the end of the book and discover there was no story ending. You had to buy the next book. Nope, not this gal. Each book in a series is supposed to have its own ending.
I made my first book a quick read because there’s lots of times I like something easy. Dana was going to be a series, but I’ve never written the next book.